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Texans Care for Children

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Bill to Give New Parents a “Baby-Owner’s Manual” Set to Pass Legislature

How-to book every new parent needs available now, too—just in time for Mother’s Day

AUSTIN – Parents mystified by a new baby’s cries, habits or cues often ask, “What is this child trying to tell me?” Now, as Mother’s Day approaches, the Senate is poised to pass legislation already approved in the House that would give many Texas parents an answer to that question in a booklet one lawmaker nicknamed “the baby owner’s manual” because it provides essential child-rearing tips for any parent of a young child. Texans Care For Children’s publication, A Parent’s Guide to Raising Healthy, Happy Children, served as inspiration for HB 1240 (Villarreal), which would provide new and expectant parents with a publication containing basic information about effective parenting, available family resources and important facts about child health and development.

“Mother’s Day is a great time to remember that there’s no more important job in Texas than being a good parent,” said Eileen Garcia-Matthews, executive director of Texans Care For Children, a nonprofit child advocacy organization. “This guide aims to empower the people who do that vital work with tools for success.”

According to recent research, parent education can bring enormous benefits for children. The New York University Child Study Center has demonstrated lower levels of child stress and aggression, reduced childhood obesity and higher standardized test scores in at-risk children whose caregivers learned parenting techniques early in their children’s lives.

In Texas, demand for parent information runs high. When earlier this year, the state Health and Human Services Commission partnered with Texans Care For Children to make hundreds of thousands of copies of A Parent’s Guide to Raising Healthy, Happy Children available in English and Spanish, the publication sold out in a matter of weeks. Co-authored by dozens of state experts in child health and development, the 35-page publication offers parents advice from their child’s perspective and uses a wall-hanging calendar format to guide parents through each stage of their child’s first five years. Each page-spread contains space to record milestones the child reached, and the guide also features resources especially for Texas parents, such as locating nearby child care, accessing support for children with special needs and finding library story-times in local communities. HB 1240 will mandate that low-income families in the Medicaid program receive the guide, but parents at any income level can enjoy A Parent’s Guide to Raising Healthy, Happy Children. It is available for individual purchase online for $10, including shipping and handling, at www.texanscareforchildren.org.

We know that for Texas children to reach their potential in the future, Texans first must stand up for what kids need now to be safe, healthy, and thriving. We work to keep Texans informed about what is happening with the state’s children and what Texans who care can do to help.

Pledge to Put Kids 1st!“I pledge in my decisions to make children’s well-being my first priority. I pledge to help keep Texas: strong, by supporting children’s health and development; safe, by protecting children from harm; prepared, by ensuring the next generation has the education to succeed; prosperous, by acting so today’s youth can can solve the problems of tomorrow; and whole, by giving children the love and security they need to grow. For the future of Texas, I will do my part to Put Kids 1st.”